cleolinda | Entries tagged with louisa may alcott

Another night off from the linkspam. It's just a busy week, I don't know. And my eyes need the rest. I did put several links on the FriendFeed... feed... just to keep the 'spam from getting too backlogged, though. (It's not something I want to start doing full-time, though, because a lot of times links I've flagged don't show up on the feed, and the format seems so impersonal compared to a spam entry here, even though I can comment on links there as well. It's a good place to dump B-list material, though, rather than get overwhelmed with an embarrassment of riches, spamwise.)

I've also started setting up a Twilight Link Repository on my Delicious account--I'm not interested in maintaining an all-encompassing link clearinghouse, but maybe people can at least check there before sending me the same links five times. To that end, I've also hit "share" on older links I'd tucked away for reference. You know, because I like to Horrify the Twilight Noob on a moment's notice when possible.

So, you know. Basically, I'm saying that I'm taking the night off, but if you just desperately want to keep up with stuff, I have it out there. Meanwhile, I have some Louisa May Alcott thrillers to get back to.

Current Mood: mellow

One final thought on The Seeker, if only because I finally thought of a way to summarize my problem with the movie: It's not the presence of changes that made the movie bad. It's that the kind of changes they made indicate that they're not good filmmakers in the first place, or (at the very least) not the right filmmakers for the project. Someone who genuinely thinks that "Googling light and dark" or "buying a Sign from a mall kiosk" is a good idea is probably not going to make a very good movie, is all I'm saying. Look at my other pet example, Stardust : a number of changes were made, but they indicated an understanding of what people want from and enjoy in a movie (example: a less bittersweet ending. And subverting fantasy tropes with anticlimax is great and all, but in a movie, you really do need some kind of showdown with the witch) while keeping as much of the original story as possible. I'm not saying it was a perfect movie, but (in my opinion) the people involved seemed to both 1) like the original material and 2) know what they were doing. Whereas the Dark Is Rising people complained (with reason!) that the original book was very internal and introspective--but rather than find a way to translate those scenes into action, they had Will running around a mall. A MALL. Here's what malls and Googling gets you: Ben Stiller's grown-up comedy ''The Heartbreak Kid'' flops. Buried in the article: "The Kingdom held strong at No. 3 with $9.3 mil and Resident Evil: Extinction stayed alive in fourth place with $4.3 mil, while the fantasy flick The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (No. 5) flopped with a mere $3.7 mil." There's a lesson here. I just hope the studio figures out what it is.

Meanwhile, I spent yesterday reading Alcott's Rose in Bloom for fun (it's one of those favorite books I tend to go back to just for comfort, although you definitely have to suspend a modern perspective, or you'll start screaming when ( spoilers? ) and a ton of documents at victorianlondon.org--I don't know why I ever doubt that that site will have exactly what I need, because it solved several problems I was having with hotel dining, dinner parties, servant duties, and Death in the Household, as one helpful article was called.

Two requests and a bunch of linkspam from y'all, from the Raiders of the Lost Ark warehouse that is my inbox:

From

starlady42: "Cleo, if you get a chance, could you pimp http://www.asbrand.com/? This is a friend of mine who is trying to navigate the nightmare that is the US government's permanent resident (green card) process for his wife and daughter. All the details are on his site -- they've been jerked around by the bureaucracy several times already, and are running out of time and money. Any help would be greatly appreciated."

From

golden_d: "I was wondering if you might be interested in Operation Find Don for your linkspam? Don appears most importantly in this essay written by Sarah Bunting of TWOP fame in mid-September 2001. It's the kind of thing that could really use some plugging. Thanks!" I actually want to say that I've linked to OFD before--way, way back in the day when Sars first posted about it. And she still hasn't found the guy? Wow.

From

etherealshores: "Miss Cleo! I have found the most amazing Halloween-type music ever: www.noxarcana.com. Seriously, check these guys out. They are amazing."

From

bandersnatch42: "Did you see Viggo Mortenson's surprise cameo on The Colbert Report? It was made of awesome."

From

elendiari22: "I have a steampunk book I thought I'd recommend to you: The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray. It's set in Victorian-esque London and it's really creepy and riveting."

From

maetang: "No human sacrifice in term time, please. Glen David Gold on the impishness that inspired his novel Carter Beats the Devil."

From

edda: "DID YOU KNOW THERE'S SUCH A THING AS A GOBLIN SHARK? BECAUSE THERE IS. Because I HAD to Google them from that link you gave me. Holy effin' snotballs, I'm gonna have nightmares now."

From

rahrahmah: How to Write a Book. "Do not postpone other projects so that you can focus on the current one. It’s better to spread yourself so thin that you produce an evenly distributed amount of complete crap.... If you’ve gotten this far without a single technical foul-up, now’s a good time to download something viral.... If one of your cowriters is something of an optimist, shit in his hat."

Hmm. I think I'll save the linkspam proper for later, rather than overwhelm everyone now.

It's been a hard weekend. Because I ran out, I basically had to quit Wellbutrin cold turkey early in the week, and... it wasn't Trainspotting or anything, but it caught up to me on Saturday and I was really, truly, unpleasantly ill. The phrase "rogue bowels" was used once or twice, I'll put it that way. Meanwhile, it looks like we as a family are going to be having a tough time for a while. I can't really say why until the relevant events have finished up, but it doesn't involve anyone's health, marital, or reproductive status, at least. I hate just throwing that out there and leaving y'all to worry, but I don't know who reads this journal, etc., and I don't need to talk about the details before they've actually happened. I was just really ill-equipped to deal with shit this particular weekend, though. We did scrounge up some samples so I'm back on the Wb, and I immediately felt more capable of dealing with life. All I'm saying is, suddenly this passage from Little Women hits closer than usual:

So Jo was satisfied with the investment of her prize money, and fell to work with a cheery spirit, bent on earning more of those delightful checks. She did earn several that year, and began to feel herself a power in the house, for by the magic of a pen, her 'rubbish' turned into comforts for them all. The Duke's Daughter paid the butcher's bill, A Phantom Hand put down a new carpet, and The Curse of the Coventrys proved the blessing of the Marches in the way of groceries and gowns.

Meanwhile, Mom and I watched The Island yesterday, and you know what? It was surprisingly not bad. It was--dare I say it--actually pretty good.

In other news, I am feeling extremely piratey lately. I think it started when I was cleaning out duplicates from some movie picture folders and ended up giving the Pirates of a Caribbean folder a good combing down. From there, it spiraled into a playlist from the soundtrack on my Nano and ordering a pair of boots ("Well, I needed some formal-ish black shoes! And these microfiber ankle boots that just came in are okay, but they bunch weirdly at the ankles, so I think I'm going to exchange them for a pair of mid-calf boots--don't look at me like that! I could wear them with skirts! I DO SO WEAR SKIRTS! OKAY, I DON'T, BUT I COULD!") I think I may curl up and watch the commentary version on the DVD before I get back to work tomorrow--I hear the one with Keira Knightley and Norrington, the guy who plays Norrington, what's his name--Jack Davenport, thank you, is hilarious. So maybe that will cheer me up. And if it doesn't, and if things really do end up going badly for the family finances, I may end up turning to piracy myself. I have a feeling that most people would be so shocked by the sight of a hijacked Manila galleon parked outside their house that, really, they'd just hand over their flatscreens and their PlayStations without much argument at that point. "YARRRR! AND WE BE WANTIN' YER PASTAMAKER, TOO!"

In the meantime, I just made fun icons from product images at Pin-up Girl Clothing. ( Fast, Loose, and Lovely )

Linkspam:

Final Days of Girl's Life Reveal Horrors.

Rescued Thames whale has convulsion and dies, woe.

Frickin' octopus tries to eat submarine, holy shit.

A Washington Post blogger has the back story on what all those security fixes here on LJ were about.

*stabs* (1): Hello, I am an asshat. It's not what he says--I really do believe that putting a marriage first is actually in the best interests of the child, for reasons that will become apparent if you read the article--but the cavalier selfishness with which he says it. "The having an affair approach"? Is that your real name on the byline, sir?

*stabs* (2): Partner's death ends happy life on ranch. It's kind of what you would have wanted for Jack and Ennis, until you get to shit like the last sentence and you want to bomb things.

*stabs* (3): UCLA students urged to expose 'radical' professors. WTF?

More BPAL e-drama: As a customer of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab, I feel like other customers should know about the smear campaign being perpetrated online. Yes, it is possible to dislike any or all of the scents. Yes, you can find fault with the shipping times during busy periods. Is it a little suspect if you continually piss and moan and you run a competing business (that has, coincidentally, been accused of 1) using synthetic components and 2) copying other sites' blends, artwork, concepts, and/or descriptions)? Yeah, I think it is. If nothing else, if you see these particular posters bitching and whining about BPAL, you'll know what axe they're grinding.

foresthouse: Lost icon contest.

Monaghan and Lilly engaged?

An Onion oldie for

snacky: Fritolaysia Cuts Off Chiplomatic Relations With Snakistan.

Long-Awaited Baby Boomer Die-Off To Begin Soon, Experts Say. There are times when I am not sure the Onion is actually writing satire. God knows I'm looking forward to it.

DOG BLOG UPDATES!

Playboy magazine set for Indonesia despite protests.

Muslim Group to Call for Writer's Release. The terrorists' deadline passed and we haven't heard anything about the girl yet, but the fact that other Muslim groups are getting involved bodes well.

dailydigestnews, as soon as I go update it: Katiewomb shenanigans--a pictorial; the South Park that Tom doesn't want you to see; a new actress joins the new Spider-Man movie; and a really awesome 2006 preview.

( What type of villain are you? )

Current Music: Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack

Mmm, cinnamon toast.

Not having that great a day otherwise--trying to work, but the Death Crud is still lingering and I feel all ropy and logy and sludgy and dried out. But by God, I've sat here in front of an open Word document all morning and all afternoon. Also, it's (checks weather.yahoo.com) 57 degrees right now (oh, that's a LIE. It's 70 degrees in this house if it's five. Hmm. Maybe this is because Sister Girl has the heat on again. GAH), and we all know that these are conditions under which I cannot art.

A pair of scrunchy brown ankle boots that I ordered on a deep-discount after-Christmas sale arrived today, though. I got a brown purse for Christmas and realized that, for some reason, all of my shoes are black (or sneakers). Thus, something in brown. They're a bitch to get on, but plenty comfortable on and easy to get off. Eeeee, scrunchy boots.

I hope no one reading this has narcolepsy, because I have bad news for you. Seriously, if you do, read this, because Teresa Nielsen Hayden didn't find out that Public Citizen had successfully campaigned to have Cylert/pemoline discontinued until she went to refill her prescription: "Xopher and I and god knows how many other people with narcolepsy, ADHD, and other tricksy neurochemical impairments are looking at THE END OF OUR FUNCTIONAL WORKING LIVES." And if you do use Cylert/pemoline, you may want to take the Narcolepsy Network's advice to write letters of complaint regarding the ban.

(God, I wish I had the power to disemvowel comments sometimes.)

Meanwhile, I have developed a sudden lip gloss obsession that has caused me to sit on my ~~wallet~~ hands to prevent myself from buying hundreds of them (woe unto sephora.com!). Particularly since I got a ton for Christmas anyway, and between Burt's Bees and Tutti Dolci, I should be set. (I think those two are actually on sale right now, as a matter of fact.) I really want some Mabel's Laundromat balms, but I think I'm going to dangle those out as a reward for finished work. I said I wanted to finish things, right?

firei: "Don't know if you've seen this before and/or linked it, but, I thought you might be interested: Literati Lip Balm - lip balm for the literary community." EEEE ALCOTT APRICOT.

In other news:

Efforts to Find Miners [in mine explosion] Become Desperate. "The men, trapped 260 feet down by an explosion Monday morning in the Sago Mine, were believed to be about 12,000 feet past the opening of the shaft. By midday Tuesday, more than 30 hours after the blast, rescue teams had penetrated 10,200 feet, working their way on foot for fear machinery might cause volatile gases to explode."

TCU Freshman Kicker Found Shot to Death.

Scientists May Have Found Mozart's Skull. "The grave on that spot is adorned by a column and a sad-looking angel." As opposed to the IN YO FACE! angels you so frequently see in cemeteries.

Apparently Angelina Jolie really is pregnant. For those of you who care. I mean, I really like her. But it's not like we won't be beaten to death with the Saga of the Brangelina Spawn by the tabloids in the coming year.

Two Marie Antoinette pics.

Prince Caspian already under way.

Goblet of Fire: Best Animated Foreign-Language Documentary of 2005. *nods*

ezaryu reviews The Book.

How do you feel about adoring fans, Unca Neil? The answer is typical gracious Neil Gaiman, bless him. On that Grateful to Be a Writer note, I'm going to take a stab at another hour of ~~staring at the screen~~ writing before starting dinner.

Current Mood: blah
Current Music: Astaire, "L-L-Love"

Turns out my poor dog has arthritis and/or bursitis in his shoulder... and a bit of gravel wedged between the pads of his paw. The doctor's advice for the aches brought on by cold weather? "Get him a sweater." I am totally going to ask the Lovely Emily to knit him a giant muffler that I can wrap all around his neck and front legs (because God knows I'd never get sleeves on the boy).

Those messages from yesterday? Farsi.

More seasonal reading!

"The Dionaea House," from last year. (Note: "An online Halloween story was based on the 'dionaea' concept. It was called the "Dionaea House", and the writer has reported the concept has been optioned for a movie.")

If you want more (and are prepared for an extremely intellectual, multimedia/print book approach), check out Mark Danielewski's House of Leaves, which seemed to inspire the Dionaea story, and his sister Poe's (Ann Danielewski) album Haunted. (The Idiot's Guide to House of Leaves. Be prepared to spoiler-swipe the entire page, because the white text blocks aren't marked very clearly, and you may miss a lot.)

Algernon Blackwood: "The Man Whom the Trees Loved," "The Willows," and "The Empty House."

F. Marion Crawford: "The Screaming Skull." I seem to remember another story of his, "The Upper Berth," that was in an oversized picture-book anthology called Mostly Ghostly. Mostly a showcase for the illustrations, but fun nonetheless.

E.F. Benson: "The Room in the Tower." I really like this one for some reason.

Louisa May Alcott: "Behind a Mask." I love the stuff she wrote for adults--neither "Gothic" nor "thriller" really cover it. Maybe "scheming and intrigue" is the best way to put it, although some of the stories do have a supernatural bent. Not this one, though--the Jean Muir character just completely pwns, is all.

From the site where I got the Alcott story: Gothic Tales from the Past. and Some Weird & Horror Tales. Seriously, I'm just bookmarking this here because if I start reading I'll be here all week.

The works of H.P. Lovecraft. I promised to post links to a few of his, ahem, less-tentacled works, so... well, okay, there are some tentacles. But I wanted to put up stories that didn't depend on the Cthulhu Mythos per se--a scary story about a wax museum is, at the end of the day, just that.

"The Picture in the House." " I thought of the rain and of a leaky roof, but rain is not red."

"The Rats in the Walls." Try to ignore the cat's name if you can. It bothered me like hell, but it was published in 1924. Sigh.

"The Strange High House in the Mist." It makes me think a little of a Lovecraftian Tom Bombadil.

"The Thing on the Doorstep." One of my favorites.

"The Shunned House." This is one of the stories that reminds me of Bierce--only a lot wordier, a lot more baroque, and with more ooze.

"Herbert West: Reanimator." Yes, that Reanimator.

"The Whisperer in Darkness." BPAL fans will get a kick out of this one--to say why would give the twist away, but you'll know it when you see it.

There are others I have printed from a site no longer in existence--sadly, the wax museum story seems to be one of them.

Speaking of wax museums, however, Marie Belloc Lowndes' "The Lodger" is another favorite. Take a guess as to who the lodger is.

Gothic novels, with links to e-texts where available. I particularly recommend Northanger Abbey (Austen's semi-parody of the genre) and The Castle of Otranto.

Speaking of both of those, there's Radcliffe's The Mysteries of Udolpho.

If you're in the Gothic mood or perhaps waiting for the Fifteen Minutes book to arrive, you can always go back and read the first three chapters of Black Ribbon. (Yes, I do remember the story about the girl with a yellow/green/red/black ribbon tied around her neck, and what happened when her fiance/husband pulled it off. Yes, my Black Ribbon is kind of named in homage to that story, although not really for the same reason. Mostly just so people would go, "Oooo, I remember that story about the girl with the yellow/green/red/black ribbon around her neck...!") I'm going to try to put up the last two chapters (rough versions or not) next month in the spirit of NaNoWriMo. Black Ribbon 1, therefore, is five chapters. Black Ribbon 2 will in theory follow the same lines, but who knows? Besides, I'm writing that one for my creative writing thesis.

And just one more link, unrelated but interesting: Hollywood Boulevard Just Isn't Big Enough For Elmo and Friends. I'm hearing that the Fiona and the Puss 'n Boots mentioned are Hall of Fame wankers you may remember if you kept up with the Jordan Wood/Bit of Earth saga.